Column: How giant corn came from Ethiopia to grow in Jackson

JACKSON, MI – Even people with little interest in agriculture are amazed by Ephraim Mato’s corn.

His corn can grow 20 feet tall in a good year, which this year is not. The giant corn is a well-known wonder at Ridgecrest Health Center, 703 Robinson Road, where Mato works as plant operations assistant. He grows a stalk or two each year in containers in a courtyard.

“Every day I can see it growing outside my window,” said resident Marian Warren. “It’s not just the corn, but the story behind it.”

The story begins, as Mato’s life did, in Ethiopia, where maize is a staple.

“The seeds were brought from Africa,” said Mato, 52.

His African corn has a six-month growing period – very long by Michigan standards – and ears don’t shrink, Mato said. He describes it as superior in almost every way.

Last year's stalk of Ephraim Mato's corn at Ridgecrest Health Center in Jackson.

Corn can be ground to make cakes, Mato said. Whole ears can be toasted slowly over a fire. Kernels can be roasted in a frying pan. Ears can be boiled like American sweet corn.

“If I boil this and sweet corn and give you both, you will say this is better,” Mato said.

Corn is not the only agricultural interest Mato transports to the United States.

If the government would let him bring in the seeds, Mato would like to import a forest vine used by Ethiopian villagers to eradicate roaches. The vine is a natural pest control used as bait to trap roaches, and it appears irresistible to the bugs, he said.

“It’s not poison and it does not hurt anybody,” he said.

Mato was no farmer or botanist in Ethiopia. He was a plumber.

Seventeen years ago, he won an annual visa lottery run by the U.S. government. Seven million people around the world entered the lottery, he said, and 55,000 won.

He was married shortly before leaving Ethiopia. I asked if he ever goes back to see his wife.

“Someday,” he said.

For all the complaints Americans make, the allure of life in our country remains powerful enough that people accept stunning personal sacrifices for a chance to live in places like Jackson, Mich.

Mrs. Warren was right. There is quite a story behind Ephraim Mato’s corn.